Pairing: Shikamaru X OC
Summary: The legendary ANBU team makes an appearance at the Hidden Leaf Village’s school and everyone is trying to get a glimpse of them. Surprise fills everyones face when they see that a young girl is on the team. Not only that, it seems that a few students know of her. Who is this mysterious ninja and what drives her to be so focused on training?
“Geez, can you believe it?!” All the young chuunin were jabbering. “Yeah, we should all totally visit the academy.”
“Yes! Legendary guest speakers!”
“An Anbu?!”
“The best one?! That’s awesome! He always works in secret!”
“Can you believe the kids will get to meet him?!”
“Come on! We gotta check it out!”
“Geez… why’s everyone going nuts for freaking ANBU person… it’s so annoying….” Shikamaru told his group. Ino shrugged, “I dunno… they’re just excited… plus ANBU’s don’t usually reveal themselves! And this is the best team! I wonder if their leader is hot…” He sighed as she headed off towards the academy.
“Relax, Shikamaru…” Choji told him. “This ANBU guy is only here for now. The commotion will be over soon.” He nodded and left. He went to the rooftop of the academy, his favorite spot to relax when he noticed a girl there. He walked over as she sat up.
“Hey…” he said. “Sorry. Did I disturb you?” The girl looked at him. Her long red hair was tied in high ponytail, her green eyes seemed to gaze right through him. She wore a common outfit, clearly not one of the students. She looked no older than him as she responded in a soft, but strong voice, “Well, yea. But, I have to get going soon anyways.”
“...well sorry…” he scoffed. “Geez, woman are so troublesome…”
“Sexist…” she glared a bit. “What are you doing up here anyways?”
“I relax up here.” he replied. “I was gonna ask you the same thing.”
“I needed some time to myself.” she replied. “I fell asleep watching the clouds.” He looked up to see them floating around. He looked back to see the girl shut the rooftop door behind her. He flinched as he didn’t even hear her get up. “Who… was she?”
~*~*~
“Come on! Come on!” Ino said as she pulled Shikamaru into the academy. Choji followed after them as Shikamaru asked, “Why the hell am I being forced to come?”
“Because Iruka-sensei favors you! He’ll give your team the best seats!” Ino explained. “We’ll have the closest seats to see the ANBU team! And besides all the other teams will be there! Even Sasuke!”
“It’s kinda exciting…” Choji said as they walked through the halls. “I heard from the elders that the team coming were the ones who helped Sasuke defeat Orochimaru.”
“Wow… real strong…” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “We’re chuunin now. Stop acting so immature. Why are woman so troublesome…” They soon entered the class where Iruka was standing in front of many Genin and a few of their chuunin friends.
“Alright, everyone. I know you’re all excited about our guest. However I need you all to quiet down.” Iruka said. “I want you all to be respectful. That goes for our graduate visitors as well.” He gave a glance to Naruto who laughed, “Ah, sensei! I’ve grown. I’m not the little immature kid I used to be.”
“I’m not just talking about you, Naruto…”
“Why’d you look at me?!” Kiba asked as he sat by the window, his large dog, Akamaru stuck his head through the window.
“Because I was talking about you.” he said. “Please, respect our guest.” He turned to the door, “ANBU team 257. Please come in.” Two men came in, they were dressed in regular a bit gothic like clothes, but they wore their too familiar Anbu mask on their faces. As they removed them, squeals emerged from many of the girls. The taller one had brown spiky hair and attractive brown eyes. He had a killer smile on his face while his partner was more mysterious. His dark shaggy hair covered his right eye, but you could still see the bright blue color in his left. The two took a seat at the front of the class with Iruka.
“Which do you think is the leader?” Ten Ten asked as the girls began gossiping quietly to each other. Ino replied, “It has to be the brunette! Just look at him stepping up and that hot smile on his face!”
“For once I have to agree with you!” Sakura squealed. “But they’re not as hot as Sasuke!” Sasuke took a glance at them, “... I remember them…” Kiba asked, “Oh, so you must know their last teammate.”
“... This is the first time I’ve seen their faces. Their leader...was smaller, more agile than they were. He never spoke a word.” Sasuke said seriously.
“Everyone, please quiet down!” Iruka scolded. “Boys, why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.” The brunette stepped forward, smiling, “Sure thing. Hello, students, Genin, Chuunin, Iruka.” He gave a little wave as the girls gave muffled squeals. “I’m Haruichi. I’ll be twenty in about two months and I’ve been an ANBU for over two years. And about a year ago was when I was placed in this amazing team.”
“Excuse me, senpai?” Ino raised her hand. “Where’s your third teammate?” He smiled, “Oh, our leader will be here soon. Anymore questions?” A series of hands flew up as girls began screaming, “Are you single?” “Do you have a girlfriend?” “Go out with me!”
“Class!” Iruka called out. “Enough. Thank you Haruichi. Let’s move on.” The mysterious dark one moved forward as he said in a dull, but confident voice, “Akiyama. Turned 18 last week. This is my first team as an ANBU.” He sat down as all the girls squealed.
“Ok, this is becoming a nuisance…” Shikamaru groaned. Kiba sighed, “What a let down. I was hoping there’d be a cute girl on their team.” He gave him a look, “They’re older than us… by years.”
“Age is but a number.” Kiba winked as Haruichi soon stood up, “Oh, our third teammate is coming.” He turned to Iruka, “Mind if we put together a demonstration?” He shook his head as Akiyama began setting up traps at the door. Haruichi began to explain, “Our leader won’t know about this so you’ll all get to see the ANBU skills in action.” Iruka hesitated, “Haruichi, are you sure about this?” Akiyama looked at the multiple kunai launcher hanging above the door with a switch, shuriken blasters were aimed at the door on a few of the desk and on the proctor’s podium.
“Yup. I’ll tell you all this now.” Haruichi explained. “All of these will be aimed at vital veins. If this were any other person, they wouldn’t be able to survive longer than ten minutes.”
“Is this safe?” Iruka questioned as he nodded, “Very. And in case, I am a medic ninja. I’ll take care of it.” Kiba beamed, “Huh, this just got interesting again… I got a question. This ‘Leader’ of your is suppose to be the top ANBU right? Wouldn’t he be prepared for traps?”
“Of course!” Haruichi said. “ Our leader is always on guard. But this is an academy for like what? Seven to thirteen year olds? How much damage can they cause? Leader won’t suspect a thing.”
“Why do you keep calling him leader?” Sakura questioned. “What’s your leader’s name?”
“Haha, simple. Our Leader is quite mysterious. And if I call our leader by name, it would ruin the surprise people always get when they met.” Haruichi explained. Akiyama soon nudged him as he said, “Oh, here we go. Alright this is important, we need to keep talking as if nothing is happening okay? Akiyama, wanna start off?”
“No.” Some girls started squealing again as Haruichi sighed, “Okay… Squealings getting annoying now--” The door slid open as all the weapons were released. A gust of debris filled the room as Iruka coughed, “Hey! That was too dangerous to be a demonstration.”
“Nope. Leader is fine. Look.” Haruichi beamed as the smoke began to wither away. The ANBU leader was knelt down on one knee as all the shurikens were caught in her right hand and kunais in her left. All the students stared in appall, but not only at the trick they just saw. But at the Anbu leader herself. She wore the usual leaf village ninja attire, her Anbu mask hung on the side of her head, her long red ponytail hanging high up, her face dead serious as she dropped all the weapons.
“Whoa…” Kiba said impressed. Shikamaru lit up a bit as she looked at the class, still speechless. “I’m Amiko. I’m sixteen years old. I became an ANBU eleven months ago and these two made me the leader about four months after that.” She turned to Haruichi, glaring, “What the hell was that?”
“We wanted to show them the skills of the great ANBU leader.” he beamed impressed. Ino then raised her hand, “Wait, I thought you said your leader was a guy…”
“That’s what most people think.” he laughed. “It’s always fun to see their reaction when the see Amiko.”
“Geez, is everyone here a sexist?” Amiko sighed. She said strongly, “Men aren’t the only heroes out there. Woman can be just as strong, just as brave, even more than men can be. I’m a living example of that. Boys can even be damsel in distress… isn’t that right Haru?”
“Yup. This girl has saved my ass so many times.” he replied.
“Amiko.” Iruka smiled. “I must say, an Anbu at your age, it’s very impressive! We have to hear that story.” She shrugged, “Anyone can do it, they just really need to have their mind set on it and work hard to get to it. I started at the academy just like all of you. I will admit there are a few familiar faces here.”
“I was very intellectual so it was simple to get through all the classes. Usually, you graduate here around twelve to thirteen, I graduate with Haruichi’s year at the age of nine. I was put in a team with guys three years older than me and trained my ass off to get better. A year later, we were apart of the Chuunin exams and we past. I was the one who became a Chuunin. A few year later, I was probably thirteen, I became a jounin. I even had a team of my own to train, but they couldn’t handle my training or tests, I sent them back to the academy. And two years later, I became ANBU with these guys as my first team.” The class still in shock was silent. “Anymore questions?”
“What do you do for fun? Like hobbies?” one Genin asked as she said, “Training. It’s what I do everyday. Other than that, I’m usually just laying back and relaxing.”
“For all three of you, what was your hardest mission?” another student asked.
“Definitely the Akatsuki.” Haruichi said as Akiyama nodded, “Too many…. annoying…”
“Yup. But we had a lot of help with them. So I’d say if anything Orochimaru. My team and Uchiha over there.” Amiko said as Sasuke smiled at the recognition.
“You’re always out on missions aren’t you?” The three nodded as she continued, “So, with the rare time you’ve come home, what do you miss most about it?”
“Oh definitely old friends.” Haruichi smiled. “Whenever I’m back, even if its just for a little while, I’ll hang out with some old classmates and well just relax and have some fun.”
“The food…” Akiyama said. “On missions… the food sucks…”
“... Honestly, I don’t have much here…” Amiko said. “I guess the thing that I get here compared to missions is a break. I have a moment to relax.” Iruka nodded, “Alright, everyone. Let’s thank our guest for being here. Amiko, Haruichi, Akiyama. Thank you for coming.” They headed out as Haruichi stopped, “Oh, we’re in town for a little while, so if you have anything you wanna ask don’t be afraid to ask.” As soon as they left, the Chuunin, Genin, and students rushed out after them.
“Senpai?! Can you please teach me that trick you did when you came in?! That was so cool!” A Genin asked Amiko as she smiled a bit, “ Maybe, but first you need to graduate and become a Genin.” She nodded in motivation as Amiko heard, “You didn’t tell me you were the guest speaker…”
“You didn’t ask.” she replied. “I didn’t think I’d run into again so soon, Mr. Sexist.” Shikamaru ignore it, “So, you were our year. Now that I think about it… I might remember you…”
“Don’t think about it too hard… It has been a long time.” she stated.
“Not long enough.” they heard as Kiba came over with a large smile on his face. He flirted, “I knew you looked familiar Amiko. I dunno if you remember me. The name’s Kiba. Inuzuka Kiba.”
“Name rings a bell.” she said almost without a care. She looked at her watch and turned to her team being crowded by girls, “Hey, Haru, Aki. Let’s get going.” Haru nodded, “A few more minutes, Amiko.” She sighed as Kiba asked, “One last question, Amiko. Before you go…”
“Shoot.”
“When are you free for a date?” he beamed as she hesitated but responded in confidence, “Depends. When are you busy?” He laughed, “Ow. Playing hard to get, I see. Fine. I’ll try to catch you at a good time then…” He headed off waving, “See ya around.”
“So, never been on a date?” Shikamaru said as she turned to him, “W-What makes you say that?”
“You hesitated as if you didn’t know what to do.” he said observantly. “Even if you did end up flirting back… it seemed as if you had no idea what you were doing.”
“Alright, we can go now.” Haruichi and Akiyama said as they came over to the two. “Oops. Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt your date plans.” The two turned red as she argued, “What the hell are you talking about?! No way! Why the hell would I ever date anyone?! We don’t have time for stupid things like that!”
“Well, isn’t he the--”
“Blah!” she screamed. “Come on, time to go!” SHe quickly began pushing them away as Shikamaru sighed, “Troublesome Woman-”
“Sexist!” he heard from afar as a small smile formed on his face.
~*~*~
“Ami, where you off to?” Haru asked the next morning. The three were training together in the forest as she replied, “I’m gonna go for a walk. I’ll be back soon.” He teased, “Okay. Have fun on your date!” She stumbled in surprise as she began hitting his head, “Knock it off! I’m not going on a date!”
“Ow! Alright, just go already!” he laughed as she left, heading towards the park. She laid under the shade of a tree and began to shut her eyes to relax.
“Hmm…” she heard not too long later. She opened her eyes as she stared at the shadow standing over her. “Why is it that you’re always in my favorite places to sleep?”
“I figured you’d be on the rooftop so I looked for another spot.” she said sitting up. He replied, “I was closer to the park.”
“Hey!” they heard as someone approached. “Well that’s not cool. You give him the time of day and not me?! Unfair, Amiko!”
“Seriously? how does this even remotely look like a date?” she gave Kiba a look. “We met by coincidence.” He shrugged, “Oh, well. Then how about you and me?” She thought, “Well, I kinda-” He suddenly pulled her on Akamaru as he beamed, “Great! Let’s go!”
“Wh-Wait! I--” They ran off, Amiko screaming after as Shikamaru shrugged it off and laid in the spot Amiko was once in.
~*~*~
“Awesome movie, wasn’t it?!” Kiba grinned as the two left the theater. She sighed, “I think… It could’ve been better if someone wasn’t making a move on me every other second.” He beamed, “Why wouldn’t I when there’s such a great girl right next to me.” She turned away, turning a little red as she said, “Well, I should get--” Before she could continue, she was pulled on Akamaru again and they sped off back to the park.
“Check it out…” Kiba pointed as they stood by the pond. She lit up, “Wow… Fireflies…” He smiled, “Romantic isn’t it? Usually in the movies, this is the scene where the couples kiss.” He leaned into her as she put her hand up to his face.
“In your dreams.” she said. She looked at her watch again, groaning, “Man, it’s so late…. I lost half a day of training thanks to you, Mr. Playboy.”
“Don’t mention it.” he said happily. “Let’s do this again some time!” He got back on Akamaru and waved as he headed off. She sighed and began walking back to her team, “I can’t believe I missed training all because of- Whoa!” She tripped over something as she fell on her face. She looked, “What the…” Shikamaru sat up, groaning, “Ugh… what was that for?”
“You’re still here?” she questioned.
“Huh? I guess my nap was longer than I thought.” he said. “How’d things go with Kiba?” The two sat together as she sighed, “I missed half a day of training…”
“Cool-”
“Not cool!” she replied, shouting. “I could’ve been using that time to get stronger!” Shikamaru put his hands up in defense, “Okay… not cool…” She glared, “And why didn’t you help me?! You knew yesterday that I didn’t want to go out with him!”
“... I was sleeping.” he pointed out the obvious as she groaned, “Geez…”
“There she is…” they heard as Haruichi and Akiyama approached. “Ami, you should’ve told us you were gonna ditch training for your date. We were worried! It’s so late--”
“THIS IS NOT A DATE!” She shouted annoyed. “Kiba dragged me all around town on his giant dog like a rag doll!” Haruichi looked around and asked Shikamaru, “Did you lose your giant dog?”
“That’s Shikamaru! Not Kiba!” she groaned. “From yesterday, remember?” He nodded, “Oh, right. Thanks for taking care of Ami on your date today. But let us know next time ok?” She groaned, giving in, “Whatever, tease all you want…” She suddenly jumped on his back as she said, “I’ll just make you carry me home.”
“Aww, Ami--”
“Sooner we get home, the sooner I get off your back. Literally.” She said as he groaned and began walking away. Shikamaru sighed, “Troubles-”
“Sexist!” He smiled as they vanished into the night. After about a week, Amiko got used to Kiba’s constant flirting and Haru’s constant teasing. She had become good friends with Ten Ten and Naruto after remembering her back in their academy days.
“Hey, Shikamaru!” Kiba called one afternoon. “Look, I found our yearbook from our second year at the academy. Man, I still can’t believe how much we’ve changed.” Shikamaru nodded as he scanned through it. Kiba said, “Remember that girl you had a crush on? What was her name?” He blushed, “I can’t remember…”
“Oh! Shizuka! She was the quiet one remember!” he said.
“That’s why I liked her. She wasn’t troublesome like other girls were.” he said. “And… that’s exactly what her name means.” Kiba thought and said, “She’s vaguely familiar… ah, there she is.” He pointed at the young girl with long brown hair, she had a soft smile on her face and her green eyes showed such child innocence.
“... Doesn’t she look a bit like Amiko?” Shikamaru realized.
“ A little… Think they’re twins?” he teased. “Whatever happened to Shizuka?” He hung his head, “... I remember, she was crying one day. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me her crush had hurt her feelings.” He sighed, “The first time she was troublesome… I hugged her and confessed to her, but she got mad. She thought I was teasing her after she got hurt. And then… I heard she transferred the very next day. Never saw her again. Maybe she moved to another village.”
“... Oh…”
“Oh what?”
“Uhm… I remember that… I’m sorry, buddy. I was the guy she confessed to.” Kiba said.
“And you ignored her?” he said in disbelief.
“I thought she was playing with me. Like all the girls did. I’m sorry. I didn’t take her confession seriously.” he stated. “I didn’t know this would happen. Not just with you, but she was Naruto’s first friend. And Ten Ten’s best. How was I suppose to know I’d drive her away like that.” He sighed, “Well, thanks for the trip down memory lane… I have to go.” He made his way through his shortcut through the forest when a kunai went right past his face, hitting the tree in front of him. He turned only to duck as Amiko jumped over him, landing on the tree as she grabbed the kunai, throwing it right back at Haruichi who dodged.
“Hey, Shika.” she said quickly as she jumped again to avoid another one. He sighed as he heard his not so favorite nickname. She threw a few more as she pinned Haruichi to a tree trunk. She looked arond when she jumped as a hand popped out of the ground. She threw more shurikens as Akiyam emerged, and pinned him to the ground.
“Wow…” Shikamaru said as he pulled the kunai’s off Haruichi. “Impressive.”
“Shikamaru. Have you come to ask our little Ami out?” Haru smiled as a kunai hit the tree barely above his head. She sighed, “Whoops. I missed.” She helped Akiyama up as Shikamaru replied, “Nope. Just passing through. See ya…”
“Ami~!” they heard as Ten Ten came over. “Come on! There’s a sale going on at the mall! I need someone to go with!”
“Uhm… sure I guess.” she said. “I’ll be back later guys.” The two girls ran off as Haru beamed, “Aww, isn’t that cute? It’s been a while since I’ve seen her opening up to people. It’s like she a kid all over again! Remember Aki?” He nodded as Haru turned to Shikamaru, “Wanna hear a story?”
“I’ll pass-”
“Okay, so since she was little, like seven, that’s when I first met her. She was just so adorable!” He began his tale as Shikamaru sighed. “She was so quiet, I don’t know how she could’ve changed so much.” Shikamaru rolled his eyes, “There’s no way Ms. Loudmouth could have ever been quiet.”
“Hey, everyone changes…. Anyways…” he reminisced. “I remember always seeing her with her friends whether it was at school, or the park. She always seemed so cheerful. Then next thing you know, she’s gliding through the levels like nothing.”
“Next thing I knew she was introduced into my class and she had changed her looks drastically.” he stated. “She cut her hair, dyed it, and she seemed so… distant now. But it didn’t matter. I was so impress with her progress I just had to befriend her. I tried hard to get her to open up to me, but I guess something happened before she came… She didnt hang out with Naruto anymore or her other friends. Her best friends became kunais and shurikens. And she never talks about what happened before her change.”
“... She changed…” Shikamaru put the pieces together.
~Flashback~
“I like you.” the young eight year old Shika told Shizuka. She got up from the bench, pulling away from him as she shouted, “Don’t joke with me, Shika! How could you do that to me after I was made fun of for confessing to my crush! I thought you were my friend!”
“But I-”
“No! I never want to love again! All it does is hurt!” she screamed. “I’ll change. I’m not gonna be this weak anymore!” She ran off as he called, “Shizuka!” But she ignored him.
~
“...I have to go…” Shika said quickly heading off before they could even react.
~*~*~
“So… I have to ask… what happened to you?” Ten Ten wondered as they hung out at the food court. “So you skipped levels, Naruto and I thought you left us. We could’ve still hung out…”
“It’s complicated…” she said.
“.... was it about your confession?” Amiko blushed as she said that. “I heard about it from Shikamaru. He was pretty depressed when you left… or when we thought you left.” She was silent as Ten Ten asked, “Do you still like him? This guy who hurt you?” She turned away as she lit up, “You do?! Who is he?!”
“..I don’t…”
“well if you don’t you won’t mind telling me…”
“... It was Kiba…” she said as Ten Ten laughed, “That flirt? Haha, well I guess I can see why. Why would you still like him after he hurt you?” She thought about it, “I don’t want to say I like him. It hurt the first time I admitted it. But I am thankful to him. It’s because he hurt me then that I wanted to get stronger. I didn’t want to be that little weak Shizuka who cried after a rejection. Because of him… I was able to make it this far.”
“It’s still hard to believe that he and Shika are so thick headed. How can they not see that you’re Shizuka-”
“I’m not Shizuka.” she stopped her. “I hate that name… It’s weak. Just like I once was-”
“You’re Shizuka?” they both heard as Kiba stood not too far from them. She flinched as Ten Ten gasped. Amiko rushed off as the two called, “Amiko!” But she had teleported away.
~*~*~
"Shit..." She groaned as she caugh her breath. "I didn't think he'd find out...."
"We would have found out eventually..." She flinched as she heard someone nearby. Shikamaru approached, "I should've know you were her..."
"What do you want?" She questioned.
"I want to take a trip down memory lane with you." He stated softly as he began walking, but stopped. Amiko sighed but ended up following him. “Remember… you used to hate the name Amiko.”
“Before I knew what it meant. But even then, I didn’t let anyone call me by my name until I transferred.” she explained. Then he asked, “So… you remember I was the one who told you the name meaning. Friend… is what Amiko means.”
“I know. And when I was turned down by Kiba because he like outgoing girls. I didn’t want to be silent Shizuka anymore.” she stated. “At first… I wanted to change so he’d like me… but in the end. I just didn’t want to get hurt again. When I confessed to him, he took it as a joke…”
“You know I always had your back when we were kids right?” he questioned as she nodded. “Well, after what happened to you, you should know that you’re not the only one who got rejected thinking their confession was a joke.” She gave him a look as he he explained, “A little boy tried to comfort you, he confessed to you and you thought he was teasing you. YOu ran off before he could even explain himself. He was just as heartbroken as you were.”
“.. You were playing with my feelings.” she said “Weren’t you?”
“No. I really did like you.” he said confidently. She became silent. “And I’ve never gotten over you. You’ve been the only girl I have ever like since.” They both stared at each other a bit red. She stuttered, “I… I-Uhm… Shika, I-”
“Still feel for Kiba?”
“No… Uhm, well, I don’t know… maybe?” she sighed. “After what happened….It really hurt…” She bit her lip, obviously trying to stay strong. She took a breath as she continued, “Kiba hurt me pretty bad… and I vowed that day, I wouldn’t get attached or love another person again. I would just focus on becoming the best ninja I could be.”
“But love was harder to keep away than you thought…” he stated as she nodded. “Like your team.”
“They’re like my big brothers.” she said happily. “Because of them, I began opening up to people again, but I still think back to that day. The day I died as Shizuka and was reborn as Amiko. The day I became stronger…”
“I understand your feelings.” he said. “I was still attached to you… It hurt when you rejected me. It hurt even more when you vanished the next day and I never heard from you again. I thought you hated me after your confession.”
“I don’t hate you.” she stated strongly, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I could never hate you. You’re my best friend, Shika… I guess.. I just took out all my emotions on you. And I’m really sorry for that.”
“So, you don’t want to like anyone because of the pain?” he stated as she nodded. “And so, you focus on training to keep your mind off that emotion?”
“Yup.” she said. “Look, Shika… It’s late. I should get going.”
“Let me walk you-”
“It’s fine.” she stopped him. “It’s been a really long day-” He suddenly wrapped his arms around her and said, “Alright… but just know, I’m always here whenever you need me.” She blushed a bit, soon pulling away, “I-I’ll see you around.” He nodded as she headed out.
~*~*~
“*yawn*” she said as she woke up early that Saturday morning, her day of rest from training. “*sigh* Now that was some day yesterday…” She stretched as she headed out of her room and into the kitchen as Haru beamed, “Morning, Ami. Breakfast is ready.” She looked, “Is Aki still in bed?”
“Yup. And don’t expect me to wake him.” he said. “You know how he is in the morning. Last time I almost ended up with my body inside out.” She sighed, “Well he doesn’t like missing breakfast eit-”
“AAH!” they heard an angry scream as they rushed into Akiyama’s room to see him throwing Kunais at Kiba. “Stop, Aki!” Amiko went for him as Haru grabbed Kiba and pulled him out of the danger zone. She pinned Aki down as she yelled, “Relax! It’s just Kiba!”
“Geez, is this how your mornings usually are?” Kiba panted in fear.
“Welcome to our world…” Haru sighed. “How’d you get in here?”
“Well, Amiko was avoiding me yesterday so I thought I’d sneak in and catch her. Problem was… the window I came into was Akiyama’s…” he explained. “And I.. uhm, kinda landed on him while he was sleeping.”
“Never wake me.” he glared as he headed out with Amiko following him. “Wait, Amiko!” He ran after her as she went to close her door. Luckily, he slipped right in as it closed. He leaned against the door and sighed as he heard a click to see her opening the window. “Hey!” He pulled her back in as he closed it, “Would you please listen to me?” She ran right into her closet and shut him out. He jiggled the knob, but she had locked it.
“Amiko, come on…” he groaned.
“Just leave me alone.” she said through the door. He sighed, soon sitting against the door, “So you really are Shizuka.”
“She’s gone.”
“Well… if you say so…” he said. “I wish I told her how I really felt about her.” There was no response as he began, “She was really cute. She may have been quiet, but she was one of the toughest girls I have ever met. She was always interesting to me. And now, she’s become more amazing than I ever thought she would be. She’s even stronger, more intelligent than she used to be.” He soon felt the door move as he moved. She peeked out, “What are you getting at?”
“Amiko, I really like you.” he stated. “I was a stupid kid back then. I didn’t take anything seriously. I wish I could take it all back. You could laugh in my face if that would make you feel better, but this confession is real.” He moved the door wide open as he faced her. She sighed, “Kiba, you weren’t the first to confess to me in the last twenty four hours. So I’ll tell you the same thing I told Shika.” She explained as he nodded, “I’m sorry again for the pain I caused you. And know this, I’ll still like you even if you’re always training. I think that’s my favorite thing about you. You’re a hard worker.” She blushed, “T-Thanks… I have to go…”
“Where?”
“I need to train.” she said. “It gets my mind of things.” She headed out after sending Kiba off. For the next month, she seemed to be out of it. Her training was off. She missed every target when throwing her weapons. Even with spars, she lost immediately to both of her teammates.
“Ami, are you feeling ok?” Haru asked as he easily pinned her down. She groaned in anger, “What the hell is wrong with me?! This has been happening all month.”
“Focus…” Akiyama said as she nodded, “I have been! Training is always the only thing in my mind!”
“Not your mind. Your heart.” Haruichi said. “It’s obviously not up to training right now.”
“It’s always up for training.” she said stubbornly. “I don’t know what’s holding it back…” Haru gave her a look, “Uh, maybe the two guys who have been courting you the last month. Maybe your hearts saying its time to finally be happy with one of them.”
“No. I’m not gonna get into some stupid relationship. Training is what I should be using my time on.”
“Well you won’t be able to do that if your heart isn’t focused.” She glared, “Stupid heart! Urgh, if only you weren’t what keeps me breathing….” She continued to practice solo as Haru and Aki gave each other worried glances. She practiced and practiced and practiced, but still couldn’t do anything right. “AH! I HATE THIS!” She punched a punching bag in anger and turned to face Haru, “I’m the worse ninja in the world!”
“Ami-” Haru began as the punching bag came back and knocked into her. “OW!” She flew right to the ground as she groaned, “I’m so pathetic….” Haru told her, “I think it’s about time you took a break. It’ll be good for you.”
“... Well, let’s hope I can at least do that…” she sighed as she moved away and laid under the shade of the tree to relax.
~*~*~
“Come on Shikamaru!” Kiba called. “We’re rivals of love! Let’s make this interesting!” He groaned, “No. You can do whatever you want to get her attention. I’ll court her my way.” Kiba sighed, “It’s been over a month, but it seems like we aren’t making any progress at all.”
“We can’t rush her on things like this. Give her some space.”
“But don’t you miss her?” he said. “She’s been training nonstop since we confessed.” Shikamaru nodded, “I know… but it’s what she loves to do. Let her do what he wants. He headed off leaving Kiba behind. He needed a place to think and headed to his favorite spot.
~*~*~
“*crunch*” Amiko heard as she shot up, rolled, and threw a kunai as it hit a tree. She stared confused as she heard, “Uhm… over here?” She turned around to see Shikamaru as she groaned in annoyance, “Damn it! Even when I’m taking a break I can hit a damn target!” She fell back down as Shika leaned over her, “Having trouble training?” She nodded as Kiba soon spotted them, “Ami! Are you on a break?!” She nodded as she began explaining to them her dilemma.
“Stop training for a while. Relax and have some fun!” Kiba suggested. “That always makes me feel better. I’m sure you’ll be back on your feet in no time after that.” She replied, “But I don’t want to stop…”
“Well, how about trying to train with the lower ranks?” Shikamaru suggested. She lit up, “Hey, that might work…. Do you think you can train me, Shika? You were the first to have your rank up, right?” He nodded, “Yeah… but Neji and Shino are Jounins….” She shook her head, “They’re probably busy as is.” He sighed, “Okay. I’ll train you.” Kiba sighed, “Well… then I guess I’ll leave you to your training…” And for the next few weeks, Shika trained her and she slowly became better and better. One day during their training, Shika beamed, “haha, gotcha…” She was caught in his shadow as he sighed, “It took me longer than last time. You’ve been improving. She nodded as his shadow returned to him. They took a break as Shika asked, “Hey, can you get us some ramen?”
“Get it yourself, lazyass.” she replied with a laugh.
“Come on. I’ve been training you all day…” he complained as she sat up from their shade, “... I don’t really talk to those people...Haruichi’s usually the one who gets us food….” He left out a soft laugh, “Heh, no matter how much you deny it, you are definitely still Shizuka.” She blushed as she said, “... You’re right, Shika. I am… I’ve changed alot from the girl I used to be, but deep down, I am Shizuka. And no that I think about it, Kiba’s only cared about me because I changed physically, but you…. you could tell that I was Shizuka too. Not just Amiko.” She suddenly hugged him as he blushed. “M-Maybe.. it won’t be so bad… to be in a relationship….”
“Do you mean…” he said as she nodded. “I- I Like you, Shika.” She was caught offguard as she was suddenly caught in his shadow. He said, “This is a joke, isn’t it?” She sighed, “Shika, it’s not. Now get your shadow off me.” He shook his head, “Just in case this is a joke, I have the chance to humiliate you in return. Prove it. Show how much you like me. He moved in front of her as she asked, “How am I suppose to prove it?”
“Kiss me.” he leaned towards her and she leaned into him as their lips met. He kissed her passionate as she returned it. He pulled away, smirking, “Alright, you’ve proved me wrong.”
“How did that prove anything? Your shadow possession was on me.” He smiled, “But it doesn’t control your lips. That’s how you were able to talk.” She blushed deep red as she looked around to see some people looking at them, “Shika! You’re so embarrassing! I’m gonna kill you!” He ran as she chased after him. SHe followed him all the way to the academy and towards the rooftop.
“Gotcha now, Shi-” she stopped as she saw a bunch of kunais and shurikens heading for her.
“She fell for it!” Haru beamed as Shika asked worried, “You sure she’ll be alright?” He nodded, “Yeah. If worse comes to worse, I’ll heal her. She’ll live.” They waited for the debris to clear up, and soon Aki pointed, “There…” Ami had dropped all of them to the floor as she panted in exhaustion. Shika ran over, “Hey, you alright?”
“I chased you all over town and the get attacked out of no where!” she screamed as she began hitting him, “Do you think that’s alright?!” He laughed, “Well, seeing as you lived, yes. And it looks like you got your skills back.” She lit up, “I-I did it!” She kissed him in happiness as she beamed, “I caught them all!”
“Well you did get a few scratches, but you’ve definitely gotten over the hurdle.” Haru pointed out. “All thanks to your boyfriend, Ms. I-don’t-want-to-get-into-a-relationship Amiko.”
“People change.” she beamed. “And that Ms. Shizuka Amiko to you.”
~FIN~
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